Transfer Policies

Transfer Policies

Students who have been enrolled in another institution and who seek admission to the College in any of its programs must have official transcripts submitted directly from the issuing institution to Thomas More College. Students who have earned less than 24 transferable semester credits must have all high school and college transcripts sent to the College. Students who have earned at least 24 transferable semester credits need to have all college transcripts submitted to the College. After submission of these transcripts, students may be admitted as transfer students under one of the following conditions:

A student who has achieved a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher (on 0â€“4 quality point scale) at another institution and has earned less than 24 transferable semester credits must meet the applicable admissions requirements previously listed for students who have been out of high school less than five years or for students who have been out of high school for five years or more. Credits earned at the previous institution that meet the criteria outlined below will be posted to the student's record at Thomas More College. Grades earned will not be used in the calculation of the Thomas More College G.P.A.

A student who has achieved a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher (on 0-4 quality point scale) at the previous institution(s) and has earned at least 24 transferable semester credits will be admitted. Those credits meeting the criteria outlined below will be posted to the student's record at Thomas More College.

A student who has not achieved a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or higher (on 0-4 quality point scale) at the previous institution(s), no matter how many credit hours were earned, may be admitted to the College at the discretion of the Admissions Committee. Thomas More College will, however, respect the academic sanctions applied by other institutions.

Students who have been placed on probation at another institution may be granted conditional admission to Thomas More. The Admissions Committee will determine the conditions to be met before the student's status may be changed to unconditional. Failure to meet those conditions would result in dismissal from the College.

A student suspended or dismissed by another institution will only be considered for admission to Thomas More College under the same criteria applied to its own students. (Cf. Suspension and Dismissal.) The Admissions Committee may elect to grant conditional admission to such students.

TRANSFER CREDIT
Thomas More College recognizes that courses taken at other postâ€“secondary institutions prior to a student's admission to Thomas More may qualify for transfer, but the College reserves the right to determine the acceptability of transfer credits in accord with its mission and goals. Usually, the following regulations and guidelines are employed in identifying collegeâ€“level learning for transfer, but these are not allâ€“inclusive of the considerations that must be weighed in reviewing an official transcript for the awarding of transfer credit at Thomas More College. It is the student's responsibility to request the issuance of transcripts from other institutions to Thomas More College. Only official transcripts sent directly from the issuing institutions to Thomas More will be accepted. No other copies will be used in the official determination of transferable credit.

Number of credit hours that may be accepted in transfer

Thomas More College accepts up to 90 semesterâ€“hour credits and equivalency credits in transfer and allows them to be applied to a bachelor's degree; it allows as many as 44 semester hour credits and equivalency credits which are accepted in transfer towards an associate's degree; and as many as 12 semesterâ€“hour credits and equivalency credits, which are accepted in transfer to be applied to a certificate. Students must earn at least 25% of their credit hours through instruction offered by Thomas More College, exclusive of transfer credit and credit earned through the consortium program.

Of the above number of credits (A), the maximum number of credits awarded for "extraâ€“institutional learning" (as defined in Section II. C. below) which may be applied to a bachelor degree is 60, to the associate's is 30, and to the certificate is 8. (Please note that RECALL credit is limited to 32 semester hours for a baccalaureate degree and 16 semester hours for an associate's degree.)

In order to earn a degree in a specific major, a student must complete, at Thomas More College, at least 18 of the hours required in that major for a bachelor's degree and 9 hours for an associate's.

Institutions from which credit hours may be accepted in transfer

Thomas More College accepts credit attached to courses taken at any post secondary degree granting institution of higher education accredited by one of the Regional Accrediting Associations. Effective Fall 2014, the completed courses must carry a grade of C- or better (1.667 or higher on a 0-4 quality point scale). Grades earned will not be used in the calculation of the Thomas More College G.P.A. Courses with a Pass/Satisfactory grade will ordinarily be accepted as general elective credit only. Courses not awarded credit by the student's previous institution(s) cannot be transferred. A quarter-hour taken at schools operating on the quarter calendar system will convert to .667 semester hours at Thomas More College.

Courses taken at a post-secondary institution of higher education not accredited by one of the six Regional Accrediting Associations will be considered on an individual basis by a review panel. Students who apply for admission from other countries are required to have their credentials evaluated by the Office of International Education Services of the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers. (The applicant is responsible for the fees charged for this service.)

The award of credit for "extra-institutional learning" will be based on the recommendation of the Center for Adult Learning and Educational Credentials of the American Council on Education (ACE), as stated in their current publications. "Extra-institutional learning" includes but is not limited to ACE, RECALL, CLEP, and Challenge Tests. A student cannot earn credit by examination for a course if they have earned credit for an upper-level course in the same subject matter (i.e. If a student earned credit for ACC102 they are not eligible to test out of ACC101). A student may also not earn credit by examination for a course if they have earned credit for a course with similar content. If the credit is transferred to meet a major requirement, the department may require supplemental learning to meet the Thomas More College equivalency.

Types of courses for which credit hours may be accepted in transfer

Credit is granted for academic courses substantially equivalent to those offered at Thomas More College. Cooperative education credit will be considered after appropriate documentation is provided by the student and the appropriate academic department reviews the documentation and approves. No more than 15 hours of co-op credit will be awarded in transfer and co-op credit awarded will count towards general elective credit and not towards major requirements. Generally credits for courses of a vocational or technical nature are not acceptable in transfer. Remedial level courses will not be accepted in transfer.

Transfer courses are evaluated in the Office of the Registrar for acceptance of core curriculum requirements and general elective credit. A student's major department determines whether credit applicable to departmental requirements will be accepted in transfer.

The transfer of credit awarded for prior experiential learning by any post-secondary institution of higher education will be considered on an individual basis in consultation with the appropriate department(s) and consistent with RECALL guidelines.

Registered nurses who successfully completed a National League of Nursing (61 Broadway, New York, New York 10006, 1-800-669-1656) accredited Hospital Diploma Program may be awarded as many as 90 semester-hour equivalency credits for past academic work.

Paramedics who have successfully passed the National Exam for Paramedic Certification may be awarded as many as 40 semester-hour equivalency credits for past academic work.

Students who are International Baccalaureate Diploma Recipients may receive up to one full year of college credit. I.B. certificate recipients are eligible for limited credit. I.B. recipients should request the Thomas More College guidelines for granting I.B. credit.

Credit by Examination

Advance Placement with credit will be given to high school graduates who have received a rating of three (3) or higher on one or more of the Advanced Placement Examinations of the College Entrance Examination Board.

Thomas More College recognizes the General and Subject Examinations of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) of the College Entrance Examination Board and Dantes Standardized Subject Tests (DSST) for the award of credit. A posting and processing fee is applicable to all students including those who submit scores of CLEP taken elsewhere while enrolled as students at Thomas More College.

Credit by examination cannot be awarded for a lower level course in a discipline than one for which the student has already earned credit. A student may also not earn credit by examination for a course if they have earned credit for a course with similar content. If the credit is transferred to meet a major requirement, the department may require supplemental learning to meet the Thomas More College equivalency.

The College also recognizes the Proficiency Examination Program (PEP) of the American College Testing service for the award of credit.

Additional information on all credit by examination is available in the Registrar's Office.